Center for Teaching and Learning
Newsletter
Vol. 14 No. 5
Dates to Note!!
Wednesday, February 18
Thinking Globally: Using
The New times in the
Classroom
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Library Room 110
Thursday, February 19
Journal Club: Non-Verbal
Communication
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Library Room 110
Tuesday, February 24
Publish and Flourish II
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Library Room 110
Wednesday, March 18
Journal Club: Getting
Students to Read
Intelligently
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Rosati Conference Room,
SI
Thursday, March 19
Journal Club: Getting
Students to Read
Intelligently
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Library Room 110
Thursday, March 26
The PAF Teaching
Portfolio: Getting
Organized
12:15 to 1:!5 p.m.
Library Room 110
To RSVP phone us at ext.
1859 or email us at
CTL@stjohns.edu.
January/February 2009
Some Thoughts On Student
Engagement
Peter P. Cardalena, Jr. (College of Professional Studies, cardalep@stjohns.edu)
There was a time when students would be lined up outside of offices and
mentoring was the order of the day. Somewhere between the advent of the
internet and the “millennial student” a void has developed. I miss that bygone
era. As most of us have been seeking a solution to this problem, I have tested
some ideas. Since the results of these experiments have been positive, may I
respectfully offer a few suggestions. Consider the following:
Wet the Appetite: I teach students whose career goals are either in the study of
law or law enforcement. I read trade journals and highlight areas that might be
important. I sprinkle into my lectures, however brief, information on job
opportunities, insights on the law school process and current industry trends. I
do, however, deliberately eliminate vital information from these presentations. It
is then stressed that if anyone requires additional information on the topic of the
day, I am ready, willing and able to see students at any mutually convenient time.
The result has been that students meet with me and spread the word to their
colleagues. I have even had students from other colleges seek information from
me on their particular career paths.
Recommendations and Other Important Requests: I will no longer accept
internet requests for recommendations. I insist that students contact me
personally. I then give them an appointment in my office for two reasons. One,
it gives me the opportunity to check my notes and gradebook. It also allows me
to see the student face to face. This usually opens the door to an in-depth
discussion regarding the focus of the recommendation. If I can offer positive
information in the area of a student’s career growth, I have found it to be music
to the student’s ears. Another by-product of this methodology is an increase in
the student’s enthusiasm in the class. It is well accepted that the grapevine will
pass the word on a faculty member’s expertise and provide additional student
engagement.
Availability: Our students are not afforded the opportunity to just attend college.
Many of them run from pillar to post and sometimes conventional office hours do
not permit a meeting. Accordingly, and not forgetting my own time constraints, I
offer every available option in contacting me. I will meet a student any time or
place. I know all of my colleagues are equally generous, but I repeat the options,
over and over, so that there is no dispute as to my availability.
Supporting University Events: Faculty and student events are at the heart of
student engagement. I read any notice on activities offered throughout the
University. I keep in close contact with learning community mentors as to their
planned events. There are two points to consider. If you are a faculty member
involved in any group offering an event, let your colleagues know. A note goes a
Center for Teaching
and Learning
DIRECTOR:
Maura C. Flannery
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR:
Elaine Carey
ASSISTANT TO THE
DIRECTOR:
Lisa Getman
DEPARTMENTAL
ASSISTANT
Judy Lam
2008-2010 FELLOWS:
Danielle Ezzo
Paula Lazrus
Robert Leston
Charles Livermore
2007-2009 FELLOWS:
Florin Catrina
Sue Ford
Marc Gillespie
Marianallet Mendez
Mary Noe
Susie Pak
Kristin Prevallet
SENIOR FELLOWS:
Laura Gianni Augusto
Barrett Brenton
Elaine Carey
Teresa Danile
Hilmi Elifoglu
Carol Fletcher
Lucy Heckman
Olga Hilas
Aliya Holmes
Nicole Maisch
Joseph Marotta
Mark Meng
Steven Mentz
Stephen P. Miller
Basilio Monteiro
Claire O’Donoghue
Jean-Pierre Ruiz
Sharon See
Kathryn Shaughnessy
Victoria Shoaf
Ellen Tufano
Jay Zimmerman
This newsletter is
published monthly
2 during the academic
year by the Center for
Teaching and
Learning.
long way in having a colleague support your next endeavor. Upon completion
of the event, drop a note to thank your supporters. This will insure their future
participation in your next event. Encourage students to make you aware of any
activity that they may be involved in. All of us are willing to participate and
sometimes a simple reminder goes a long way. I also go out of my way to
remind students of the importance of networking. Not too long ago there was a
speaker who worked with the Grievance Committee of the New York State Bar
Association. One of our students was very interested in his presentation. She
asked me if she could volunteer in that office. She did, and not many years
later, as an attorney, became a full-time employee in that office. This
reinforces the import of supporting University activities.
Polling The Audience: Through the years I have always relied on students to
assist me in whatever is the endeavor of the moment. I ask them to let me
know their thoughts on anything of importance, including any shortcomings in
my teaching approach. Their response has always been helpful. I suggest we
seek their advice regarding student engagement. I am willing to bet it will be
most beneficial.
Junior Faculty Research Colloquium
Schedule for Spring 2009
Although junior faculty present at these colloquia, the meetings are open to ALL
faculty. They met usually on the first Thursday of the month in the Writing
Center Conference Room from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
“Reasons to Celebrate: New York and the Opening of the Erie Canal, 1825.”
Thursday, March 5
Caroline Fuchs: University Libraries
From October 26 to November 4,1825, thousands of New Yorkers from Buffalo
to the island of Manhattan participated in a celebration that was unparalleled in
the size and scope. The celebration marking the opening of the Erie Canal was
the biggest party that New Yorkers—and Americans—had ever thrown. Why? A
closer look at the celebration events and a brief examination of the history
behind the building of the canal reveals multi-layers of intent, purpose and
politicking: an intricate local, national and international agenda on the part of
the organizers underlay the ten-day program of activities.
“Henri Salvador and Race”
Thursday, April 2
Felix Germain: Department of History, St John’s College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences
This paper will discuss how Henri Salvador, a black artist in France, played an
important role in changing race relations during the postwar period.
For more information about the JFRC please contact Lara Vapnek at
vapnekl@stjohns.edu or ext. 5230.
Professor Lucy Heckman (University Libraries,
heckmanl@stjohns.edu) co-published an article,
“Thrift for Tough Times: Collection Development
Personal Finance,” Library Journal (January
2009).
Faculty News
January/February 2009
Dr. Zhe-Sheng Chen (Pharmaceutical Sciences,
chenz@stjohns.edu) published five articles:
“Human
Multidrug
Resistance
Protein
7
(ABCC10) Is a Resistance Factor for Nucleoside
Analogues and Epothilone B” in Cancer
Research; “Expression of ABCC Type Nucleotide
Exporters in Blasts of Adult Acute Myeloid
Leukaemia: Relation to Long Term Survival” in
Clinical Cancer Research;
“RNA Interference
Targeting the CD147 Induces Apoptosis of
Multidrug Resistant Cancer Cells Related to XIAP
Depletion” in Cancer Letters; “Inhibiting the
Function of ABCB1 and ABCG2 by the EGFR
Tyrosine
Kinase
Inhibitor
AG1478”
in
Biochemical Pharmacology; and “The Epidermal
Growth Factor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor AG1478
and Erlotinib Reverse ABCG2-Mediated Drug
Resistance” in Oncology Reports (January 2009).
Dr. Michael Dempsey (Humanities, dempseym@
stjohns.edu) presented a paper, “’The Path of
Total Surrender:’ Karl Barth and the Spiritual
Nature of Theology,” for the Karl Barth Society of
North America at the Annual Meeting of the
Society of Biblical Literature in Boston
(November 2008).
Dr. Rita Dunn (Administration and Instructional
Leadership, dunnr@stjohns.edu) co-authored
the book Differentiating Instruction for At-Risk
Students: What To Do and How To Do It
(Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009).
Dr. Maura C. Flannery (Computer Science,
Mathematics
and
Science,
flannerm@stjohns.edu) published an article, “At
Sea in Berlin,” in The American Biology Teacher
(November/December 2008).
Dr. Joseph Giacalone (Economics and Finance,
giacaloj@stjohns.edu) co-authored an article,
“The
Relationship Between Trade Protection and
Political Interests,” in Contemporary Finance &
Economics [in Chinese] (October 2008).
Professor William Keogan (University Libraries,
keoganw@stjohns.edu) published “The Fenians
and
the
Anglo-American
Naturalization
Question” in New York
S Irish History (2007); and
a reviews of Bryson’s
e Dictionary for Writers and
Editors and Reference Sources for Small and
p
Medium-Sized Libraries in Catholic Library World
(December 2008). t
e
m (Institute of Core Studies,
Dr. Paula Kay Lazrus
lazrusp@stjohns.edu)
b was a panel speaker for
the Re-Examining e Ethics Workshop public
opening session rat Indiana University at
Bloomington (October 2008); was elected a Vice
President of the Archaeological Institute of
2 York Society (November
American's local New
2008); participated0 in the G.O.A.L.S. (Greater
0
Opportunities
Advancing
Leadership
and
Science) for Girls Youth
Leadership Conference
4
at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
(December 2008).
Dr.
Stephen
Paul
Miller
(English,
millers@stjohns. edu) published a book of
poems, Being with a Bullet (Talisman); published
an essay “Critiphoria Happens: How Criticism, St.
John’s University Students, and the Poetry
Community Came Together,” in Professional
Studies Review; co-edited Critiphoria, and
published several poems: “Off the Top of My
Radiohead” in Eoagh, “Keeping Away From
School” in An Anthology of New York City Poetry,
“Apocalypse Here, A Review” in Zen Monster,
“Bob Holman Is So 60” in a Bowery Poetry Club
tribute collection; “11/04/08,” “Re the Finance
Crisis:,” “Skid,” and “The Sun Thinks for a
Person” in House Organ, “Fort Dad” in
Critiphoria, and “There’s Ecstasy in God Being
One” in Shofar.
Dr. Alice Powers (Psychology, powersa@stjohns.
edu) gave an invited address entitled
"Acetylcholine Mediates Selective Attention in
Turtles" at the biennial meeting of the
International Society for Comparative Psychology
in Buenos Aires, Argentina (October 2008);
presented a poster entitled "Blinks Slow
Memory-Guided Saccades" at the annual
meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in3
Washington, DC (November 2008).
Dr. Judith Ryder (Sociology and Anthropology,
ryderj@stjohns.edu) co-authored the chapter
“I’ve Been Around and Around and Around:
Measuring Traumatic Events in the Lives of
Incarcerated Girls” in Women’s Mental Health
Issues Across the Criminal Justice System
(Prentice Hall); co-presented a paper “Policy
Stories of Girls and Violence: Implications for
the Field” at the American Society of
Criminology annual meeting in St. Louis, MO
(November 2008); and presented "Engaging
Art—Creating Meaning. The Clothesline Project
at St. John’s University" on a Learning Through
Engagement panel (with Dr. Barbara Koziak,
Government and Politics, koziakb@stjohns.edu
and
Dr.
Trent
Hamann,
Philosophy,
hamannt@stjohns.edu)
at
the
National
Association of Women in Catholic Higher
Education Conference (June 2008).
Professor Richard Scorce (Computer Science,
Math and Science, scorcer@stjohns.edu)
received
the
Cisco
Certified
Network
Administrator and the Cisco Certified Academy
Instructor certifications (August 2008) and
received the Certified Wireless Network
Administrator certification (December of
2008).
Dr. Abu Serajuddin (Pharmaceutical Sciences,
serajuda@stjohns.edu)
organized
and
moderat-ed two symposia on “Drug Substance
and Drug
Product Interface: A Critical Step toward Quality
by Design for Pharmaceutical Products” and
“High-Energy Solids for Delivering Poorly WaterSoluble Drugs: Opportunities and Challenges”
and presented “Liquid and Solid Microemulsion
Preconcentrate Systems for Oral Delivery” at the
annual meeting of the American Association of
Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) held in Atlanta,
GA (November 2008); published a paper on
“Application
of
Melt
Extrusion
in
the
Development of a Physically and Chemically
Stable High-Energy Amorphous Solid Dispersion
of a Poorly Water-Soluble Drug” in Molecular
Pharmaceutics (December 2008).
Dr. Charles Wankel (Management, wankelc@
stjohns.edu) has been appointed to the Editorial
Board of the International Journal of Virtual and
Personal Learning Environments.
Faculty News
If you would like to send an entry to “Faculty
News,” the deadline for the March issue is March
3. We prefer that you email the information to
CTL@stjohns.edu. Please have your entries follow
the style presented in “Faculty News.” Material
included in CTL Faculty News will be sent to
Dominic Scianna for distribution in a news
release.
Blackboard 6 Sessions
Join these Blackboard 6 workshops to learn the valuable skills needed to navigate Blackboard 6 with
ease, in the Library room 308 (Queens Campus) from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. This room has computers,
however, if you have a laptop, it is recommended to bring it to the workshop so you are working on a
machine which is familiar to you.
Topics:
Basic Intro, Announcements, Mail and Discussion Board
Students, Files and Backups
Grades, Assignments and Quizzes
Date:
March 19
March 31
April 14
Questions can be directed to Prof. Edith Chasen-Cerreta, Physics Department, St. John's College, at:
chasene@stjohns.edu .
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Supporting Research and Teaching
Maura C. Flannery (College of Professional Studies, flannerm@stjohns.edu)
I am very excited about a great Website I just discovered, and how I discovered it says something about
one of the great resources for teaching ideas many of us have access to, but might not appreciate. The
Website is called Biofundamentals (http://www.virtuallaboratory.net/Biofundamentals/) and as its name
implies, it deals with basic ideas in biology. I am excited about using some elements of this site in my
Scientific Inquiry course this semester. But before you stop reading because you’re not a biologist and
therefore don’t think this article is relevant to you, read on. I want to tell you about how I found this
site rather than about what it contains.
I belong to the American Institute of Biological Sciences, one of several professional organizations for
biologists. The AIBS publishes BioScience, a journal rich in research articles and reviews on a variety of
topics including ecology, developmental biology, and evolution. In other words, it is a good way to
keep up on the latest research. But BioScience also publishes articles on biology education, and that’s
how I came to read Charlene D’Avanzo’s essay with the rather unpromising title, “Biology Concept
Inventories: Overview, Status, and Next Steps” (December 2008). She describes the efforts of faculty
from a number of science disciplines to create concept inventories as a way to focus teaching in
introductory courses. These inventories zero-in on core concepts and ways of thinking, so that the
important ideas aren’t lost in mountains of information. Biofundamentals is one such project, headed
by Michael Klymkowsky of the University of Colorado, Boulder. He developed this site to provide basic
information for a cell biology course he teaches for nonscience majors.
In the process of examining some of the online resources cited by D’Avanzo, I also found a slew of
other interesting sites including Bioliteracy (http://www.bioliteracy.net), which is a hub for biology
concept inventories, and where there are links to assessment strategies, articles on teaching, course
materials, etc., etc., etc. Yet the door to these treasures was a research journal, something I was
reading to keep up in my field, not to make me a better teacher. And this is my point, most of the
scholarly or professional organizations we belong to now have teaching initiatives. The American
Historical Association and the American Psychological Association have been at it for years.
Most of us are probably vaguely aware of these efforts, but many of us, myself included, don’t
necessarily pay as much attention to them as we should. This is unfortunate since here is information
about teaching that is specifically tailored to our own disciplines. Biofundamentals has made my job of
planning for the spring semester a little easier because here, freely available on the Web, is basic
information for my students on a Website that is well-designed, interactive, and filled with thoughtprovoking questions and activities. What I find scary about all this is that I didn’t know it existed until a
few weeks ago. I did know about the Bioliteracy site, but when I had visited a couple of years ago, it
didn’t amount to much, which discouraged me from returning—another one of my mistakes, and one
that is fatal when dealing with Websites. While there are cases where good Websites disappear or
change for the worse, it is more likely that they will improve with time. So if your professional
organization has an education site, take a look at it from time to time. Who knows what energetic
person in your field may have contributed to it and given you a way to brighten your teaching.
Faculty Growth Grants Program
The deadline to apply for a Faculty Growth Grant is:
April 6, 2009
If you have any questions regarding the application procedures look at our website under Growth
Grants Program (http://stjohns.edu/academics/centers/teach/growth) or email us at CTL@stjohns.edu.
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Valuing the Visual
Maura C. Flannery (College of Professional Studies, flannerm@stjohns.edu)
One of the monthly feature’s in Change magazine is called “Resource Review,” and as its title implies, it
provides a terse but rich guide to the best information on specific topics in higher education. Recently,
the review was by Peter Felten of Elon University on visual literacy.1 This is a topic dear to my heart, so
of course, I gave it more than passing attention, and by the end I realized that while this subject is
important to me, there are many aspects of it that I just don’t know much about. Felten begins with the
relatively obvious: the success of Flickr, a photo-sharing Website, and archives with rich visual
resources such as NASA’s Visible Earth collection (http://visibleearth.nasa.gov) and the Library of
Congress’s American Memory site (http://memory.loc.gov). Then he defines visual literacy as “the
ability to understand, produce, and use culturally significant images, objects, and visible actions” (p.
60).
Felten briefly touches on video games and other forms of new media, and then focuses on four
categories of resources that he sees as “essential” to comprehending what visual literacy means in
higher education. The first category is foundational: what are the key resources that give us a
grounding in what visual literacy is about. He cites the International Visual Literacy Association, which
has a Website with a resource portal (http://www.ivla.org/portal/intro). Other good sites are
sponsored by the New Media Consortium (http://www.nmc.org) and EDUCAUSE
(http://www.educause.edu). He does mention some books as well, for those who want to deal with the
visual on paper, and complete citations are given for all of them.
Then Felten moves on to the next category: how does visual perception and cognition work. This is
huge topic for which answers are only partial. In addition to the references he provides, I’ll add one of
my favorites: Margaret Livingstone’s Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing (Abrams, 2002). However,
no work can provide a complete analysis of visual perception because our understanding of it is still
very much a work-in-progress.
The third of Felten’s categories is visual design: how to make meaning with images. The economist
Edward Tufte is the big name here, since he has several terrific books on how to best display
information. His first book, which was reissued in 2001, is The Visual Display of Quantitative
Information.
Lastly is the topic of teaching about visual literacy. Here Felten gives a substantial bibliography and
also mentions Websites like SPACE (Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement) which
has resources for developing spatial thinking and understanding of maps (http://www.csiss.org/space).
From there you can get to the University of California at Santa Barbara’s Spatial site; click on resources,
and I can guarantee you will learn a great deal about visual literacy, find wonderful ideas for teaching,
and spend a lot of time there.
Time is the real issue with visual literacy. It takes time not only to learn about it, but also simply to
look. Our students assume that glancing at an image on a screen or in a textbook is enough, but all
the research on perception and on visual learning indicates that it takes work. Felten’s article is a great
guide in this work.
The Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Change is available as an eJournal from the University’s library Website.
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